Clothespin device



July 7, 1953 R, w. MCNAMEE 2,644,210

CLOTHESPIN DEVICE Filed June 27, 1950 INVENTOR.

Patented July 7, 1.953

UNITEDv STATES PATENT OFFICE- f vj 2,644,210;V j cnorrHEsPm Demon l Rohert'W; McNamee, Westbury, N. Y. Applicants Jun-e 2.7, 1950,.,se1-iar-No. 170,548y

1.01am.. (o1. 24e-rai) This invention relates to clothespins' andmore particularly to a clothespin having improved clothes engaging means and means for fixing the pin in position on the clothesline. l

An important object of this invention is to provide a device which may be permanentlyas:- sociated with a, clothesline, Ymay be moved. therealong and may be temporarily fixed in any desired position.

A further objectl of the. device is to provide an improved clothes clamping means in which the clothes are not passed over the clothesline. prior to clamping.

Another object or the inventionis to provide a simple, economical clothespin device whichcannot be mislaid and will provide meansfor attach.- ing clothes to a clothesline withoutv thel necessity for contacting the clothesline itself.

Still another object of the invention isto. provide a decorative sanitaryv clothes fastening device which is substantially impervious to weather conditions.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be brought out hereinafter.

The invention includes two members each provided with a clothes engaging or clamping jaw at one vend and' a. lever arm' at the other end. The two members are connected by a spring which provides a pivotal connection for. the two members intermediate their ends. The spring means act against the members to-urgethejaws of the members into clothes clamping position inthe usual manner found' in spring clothespins. The invention resides in the improvement of'4 the conguration of the clamping faces of the jaws and the provisionof a wedge lshapedeyeletin the lever arm end of one ofthe members. The improved clamping jaws clamping face on the one jaw adapted to receive a hook-like jaw of the other member. The eye'- let provided inthe lever arm of one of the members has a wedge shaped conguration which becomes gradually restricted at the end remote from the clamping jaws thus providing a means for fixing the clothespin on the clothesline wheny it is in use.

Reference is made to the drawings for a more complete description of the invention:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the device when not in use; Y

Fig. 2 is a side View of the device when in use;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an alternate form of the eyelet wherein striations are provided on the inner wall; and

Fig. 4 is a side view of an alternate form of the invention.

include. a concavel Reterring. to Figs. l and 2, the device comprises elongated' members I0 and II having lever arms I2- and I3 respectivelyl andclothes engaging vjawsA I4l and I5. The members l0 and II are: maintained in pivotal connection by the coil spring I6, the coil of lthe spring being received infreY cesses. I1 provided in the members I0 andgI-I.

Extension arms I8 of the .spring grip the members II) and II adjacent thegclothesv engaging jaws'lof the members and urge said jaws into clothes clampingV position. This type of clampingmeans beingv well. known, further description Athereof will not be made.

The clamping jaw provided with a concave recess. I9 on its clothes enga-ging. face and clamping jaw Ijvis provided with a, hook-like projection which v extends outwardly from. the jaw member I5 at an acute angle. An enlarged rounded protuberancefZl is formed on the outer endlof the hook-likel projection l2I'I and is adapted to seat itself in the re.` cess I9' as shown in Fig. 1. The p rotuberance ZI is. sufliciently small so that itudoes not occupy the entire conca-vity I9. j y *Y l An eyelet. 22 may be. formedy intheleverV armV I3 of the member I-I.. The eyelet 22- has a gen-- erally wedge shaped form, having a greater width atthe-end 273 adjacent the pivotal spring connection IB than at the outer end Y2li of thelever .arm I3. The opening. ofthe eyelet is of such size thata standard clothesline as indicated in crosssectionat. 2.5 in Fig. 1 may be loosely received in the. lower, i. e. enlarged part of the eyelet,l "The upper partv of the eyelet has a. reduced width such that when the clothesline is pressed upward y Y into that areav of the eyelet, it will be squeezed,

as .shownin Fig. `2.. The portions 25 of'the lever arm I3 forming the walls. offtheeyel'et 2`27arev sufficiently thin and resilient tomove outwardly as the clothesline lis forced into the upper restricted area of the eyelet so that the walls will Y exert an inward pressure against the clothesline when the latter is inthe position shown in Fig. 2.

The clothespin is threaded on the clothesline 25 and when not in use maybe freely moved along the clothesline being loosely embraced in I-4- on the member ,tu is Vtion on the clothesline v25.

3 close by releasing the lever arms I2 and I3 and the jaws I4 and I5 move together to grip firmly theclothes positioned therebetween. The curved areas 21 adjacent to the.` rim of the concave clothes engaging face I9 provide recessed spaces on either side of the protuberance 2| to permit the thickness of fabric to be received in the spaces so that a firm gripping contact can be made between the central part of the concave face and the protuberance 2I on the hook 2B.

To x the clothespin in position on the clothesline so that it will not move laterally, i. e., along the clothesline, during the time it is being used CFI as a clothes supporting means, the clothespinx.

is pressed downwardly so that the clothesline is forced into the restricted area of the eyelet as shown in Fig. 2. It will be noted that the Weight of the clothes will assist in maintaining the clothespin in this position and the pressureV` exerted by the Wind or other forces against the clothing will tend to further bind the clothespin in position on the clothesline. It will be understood that becausethe clothespin is permanently fixed upon the clothesline, there is no possibilityof its becoming .detached when wind blows against the clothes.

Will tend to prevent clothes becoming detached' Also, the hook means 2i? smooth surfaced material which does not vcollect dirt and is substantially impervious to ordinary Weather conditions. Furthermore, plastics of the type suggested have been found to have sufcient resiliency to permit the walls of the eyelet 22 to assist in the wedging and binding ac- 'Ihe spring for the clothespin may be formed of any suitable corrosive resistant metal such as stainless steel.

The Walls of the eyelet 22, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, are contemplated as being substantially smooth and forming gradually sloping-surfaces from the area of greater width 23 to the area of reduced width 24. Fig. 3 presents an alternate configuration for the walls of the eyelet.V As shown, therein, eyelet 39 is provided with striations or ridges 3| disposed lengthwise of the member 32, i. e., extending from the enlarged area 33 to the restricted -area'34 of the device. The

, striations 3i provide a greater frictional *surface to prevent the lateral movementfof the clothespin when it has been set in the clothesline-binding position, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 illustrates an alternate form of the irivention wherein the hook-line projection 35 is provided on the member 36` and the eyelet 31 is provided on the opposing member 38 so that when the clothespin device is in the clothes gripping position, as shownin Fig. 4, the hooklike member 35 will be more nearly in the vertical position than in the form illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 to thereby enhance v`the hooking vqualities of the gripping faces formed on the jaws 39 and 40 in Figj4. Y

It will be appreciated that the invention may be `carried out in ways'other than those described in-the foregoing specification, and that the forms vembodying the invention described are merely illustrative, and that various changes in the design and arrangement of the elements may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Having thus described my invention, I claim: In. a clothespin having ,two members each provided with a clothes clamping jaw at one end and a lever'arm at the other end and wherein spring means provide a pivotal connection for said members'inte'rmediate their ends and urge the jaws of said members into clothes clamping position; aclothesline engaging eyelet element deiined in one lever arm, said eyelet being closed and extendingY from a point adjacent the pivotalconnection of said member to a point adjacent the end of said lever arm, the eyelet formed in the member being suiciently large at the end adjacent the pivotal connection to receive looselyv a Vclothesline. and being 1 suiiiciently small adjacent the end ofthe lever arm so as to bind upon the clothesline, the portions of the member defining the walls of the eyeletv being adapted for resilient outward deformation when pressure is exerted vagainst the inner faces of said portions, the portions of the lever defining the eyeletl being an intergral structure whereby the walls of the eyelet are supported at both ends.

ROBERT vv. MCNAMEE.

f YReferences Citedv in the leof this vpatent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

